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Yoga is basically a breathing exercise. Through its various postures, a practitioner is taught to breathe correctly. Correct breathing relieves stress and conserves energy that can be wasted unknowingly through improper breathing.
The logic of many yoga postures is readily apparent. They call, for example, for progressive flexing of the curving segments of the spine from the neck on down through the upper back, lower back, and spinal base. Flexing is accompanied by strengthening. Every joint and ligament undergoes the systematic stretching process. Pressure may also be applied to specific areas of the body to promote improved circulation of the blood. By degrees, the body becomes conditioned to increase demands. While in various postures too, the yoga student learns to practice deep breathing. Deep breathing, properly done from the diaphragm, can encourage relaxation. If it is correctly performed, both the stomach and the chest expand during inhalation and recede during exhalation. A session may close with a final extended relaxation period. Meditation makes it possible to replenish inner resources while absorbing the full benefit of the postures. The yoga postures promote correct deep breathing and thus provide a means of relaxing that can be important to a fitness program. For the fitness worker who wants to learn deep breathing as a road to relaxation, here are two multi-step exercises derived from yoga. The First Breathing Exercise 1) While lying on your back, draw up your knees. Your feet should be placed slightly apart. Inhaling deeply, allow the stomach to relax, then expand. Exhale, at the same time pulling the stomach in so that the diaphragm rises to the point where it presses against the rib cage.
2) Continue to breathe diaphragmatically. First slowly fill the lower portions of the lungs, then try to fill the middle and upper parts.
3) Exhale. Try to picture the air slowly leaving the upper, then the lower parts of the chest cavity.
4) Continue to breathe in this fashion. Breathe slowly and deeply. Let your breathing become very slow. Your body should relax completely. The Second Breathing Exercise 1) Start by sitting on a chair with your hands on your thighs and your elbows at your sides. Straighten your spine. Do not lean back against the back of your chair—or touch the back at all.
2) Breathe in and out rapidly through your nose. Repeat about 12 times, keeping a wood-sawing rhythm.
3) Exhale slowly through your nose until you have emptied your lungs.
4) Inhale to the count of seven. Pause for one second, then exhale. Pause again for a second. Repeat until you have completed seven breathing cycles. Deep breathing while doing yoga postures help improve cardio-respiratory endurance and ultimately relieve stress. Because these breathing exercises are simple, require no equipments, and can be done in a short time, they are good stress-busters when you need it most.
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